Program Officer

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY: Mercy Corps program addresses a large array of needs and gaps, going from urban and peri-urban scale projects to community level interventions, which includes schools and other communal centers, going through addressing hygiene issues through hygiene promotion activities and distributions of related Non Food Items (NFIs) and in collaboration with basic water and sanitation infrastructure rehabilitation and schemes. The program will be implemented through local and/or regional partner NGOs and will be managed remotely from the Beirut office, Lebanon. GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY: The Program Officer’s role is to support the management of at least two large multi-sectoral programs/grants. Under the direct supervision of the Program Manager, the Program Officer is responsible for coordinating and assisting WASH, NFI, Protection and food programs in the program areas. The position holder will work closely with implementing partner(s) to ensure smooth, efficient and effective implementation of the program. The position encompasses a wide range of project activities, including planning and coordination of high quality interventions, monitoring, supporting budget and proposal development, collating information collected from partners, reporting to donors, arranging trainings with partners and mentoring of specific partner staff where appropriate. The Program Officer also plays a key role in the implementation and overseeing the safety and security procedures throughout the program implementation while providing input for proposal development and expanding the programs in the targeted areas. Relevant technical sectors the Program Officer will be involved in include but are not limited to: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; Non-Food Items; Food; Child Protection. The position holder will work closely with the Program Manager, who will seek to expand the skills of the Program Officer and delegate more responsibility during the duration of the contract. ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: Program Support Ensure that the programs targets are met accordingly to the implementation work-plan. This includes being responsible for the quality of periodical reports/updates and grants tracking system by ensuring that grant records are kept up to date. Provide recommendations to the Program Manager on proposals to fund. Ensure that the review and pre-monitoring process is fair and transparent. Depending on security situation in the target program areas, conduct pre-monitoring visits to assess the suitability of proposed projects and capacity of potential partners. When security and accessibility allows, conduct monitoring visits to assess the quality and effectiveness of projects already funded by Mercy Corps. Provide follow-up recommendations and solutions where there are problems in implementation. Help design project frameworks/objectives with local partners/LNGOs, and ensure that the projects funded all meet set criteria and standards. Organize and participate in the facilitation of meetings/workshops/trainings to help increase the capacity of local staff and implementing partners in planning and implementation of emergency response programs. Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission. Assist in any other task or duty assigned by the supervisor. Where possible, provide technical oversight and support, direct and/or remotely, for the technical WASH/NFI components of the program implementation by the local and/or regional partner(s) at the field level. Representation and Coordination As required by the supervisor, represent Mercy Corps at donor meetings, and government and sectoral coordination forums/meetings. Under supervision of the Program Manager, develop and maintain working relationships and coordinate with relevant international and local agencies ,including humanitarian and human rights organizations, local authorities and local partners. Organizational Learning:  As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve - we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves. Highlights: Participate to staff training, helping to build technical capacity of staff, operators and partners in the area of WASH and basic M&E, including periodical reflection and analysis of program monitoring data; Mentors and coaches colleagues and team members building their capacity to enable them to obtain high quality results and impact Helps to development and execution of context specific solutions to improve collaboration, coordination and performance; Work with partners and Water and/or Sanitation Utilities to strengthen linkages with other actors to enhance organizational learning which directly impacts staff performance and productivity; Accountability to Stakeholders: Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to the international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Highlights: Ensure that beneficiary communities are adequately informed about Mercy Corps programs, are aware of their entitlements, are comfortable to give feedback and that feedback is used to improve the quality of our programs; Integrate M&E and accountability systems that are compliant with HAP international benchmarks, SPHERE and other relevant standards, as well as to the Donors’ requirements; Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission or put the team, assets and mission at risk; KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE: Desired demonstrated expertise in implementation of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Promotion programs and relevant projects. Experience in implementing humanitarian programs such as NFI distributions, WASH infrastructure projects, food distributions or child protection initiatives. Good understanding of structure and processes in NGOs.   Knowledge about water treatment technologies, quality control procedures, and hydraulics principles would be an asset, but not requirement. Demonstrated experience in emergency response programming in highly insecure environments. Commitment to local capacity building and past experience of engaging and working with local stakeholders in project design and implementation. Demonstrated capacity to collaborate closely with INGOs, national NGOs and Community Based Organisations. Good organizational and basic project management skills. Proven ability to work cooperatively with colleagues from other departments in a team environment, and to lead a diverse group of people. Understanding of participatory methodologies for project design, implementation and evaluation. Knowledge of humanitarian standards and codes, including SPHERE, HAP is an asset. Working understanding of procurement, administration and finance systems. Demonstrated familiarity with the MS Office software (i.e., Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) is required. Hydraulic modeling is a plus. Show great initiative and be able to work well in a team and independently. Demonstrate knowledge of the Syrian conflict context and understands project needs. Commitment to high level of confidentiality with sensitive information. SUCCESS FACTORS: The successful candidate will have proven experience working effectively and respectfully with authorities, NGOs, and CBO representatives, and will have effective verbal and written communication as well as multi-tasking, organizational, and prioritization skills. S/he will have demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members, and will have an interest and ability to travel and work in insecure environments. Sensitivity to multi-cultural humanitarian and development work and ability to train and facilitate dialogue among a diverse group of individuals with various skill sets and working styles are all critical, as is a commitment to working with community members to make concrete improvements to their livelihoods and living conditions. An ability to creatively solve problems, juggle multiple priorities under tight deadlines, and to calmly and diplomatically deal with unexpected and sudden events impacting program operations are also essential. Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures and values at all times and venues, in such a manner as to bring positive recognition to Mercy Corps and to not endanger Mercy Corps’ humanitarian mission.